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teokajlibroj's review against another edition
5.0
This is classic Kavanagh and anyone who enjoys his poetry will enjoy this. The main character is very similar to Kavanagh, they're both small farmers in isolated rural areas who struggle to relate to other people, while having a poetic love for everything around them. The best part of the book is how Kavanagh accurately captures the way people talk and the turns of phrase they use.
Plot isn't a major part of the book, which is more about the atmosphere of the place. This is deliberate because there is a sense of loneliness and a feeling that little ever happens there. There is a great mixture of frustration and contentedness.
Plot isn't a major part of the book, which is more about the atmosphere of the place. This is deliberate because there is a sense of loneliness and a feeling that little ever happens there. There is a great mixture of frustration and contentedness.
asiemsanyal's review
4.0
Quite evidently a semi-autobiographical account, Tarry Flynn creates a delightful meander through the Ireland of the 1930s. Through his bucolic prose, Kavanagh vividly conjures an impression of the Irish countryside. It isn't difficult to imagine oneself walking alongside Tarry or Eusebius, minding the farm, leading the cow to be impregnated by the bull, indulging in banal pleasantries. The atmosphere is suffused with the smells and sounds of the country, and little wonder that Tarry is prone to daydreaming his days away, surrounded as he is by such a glorious bounty of nature. However, as is most often the case with small towns and villages, there is always a yearning for 'greener pastures', for the sights and sounds of big cities, and a desire to leave one's travails behind. This affliction follows Tarry throughout the book, and Kavanagh does a wonderful job of keeping alive this dilemma throughout the book - to leave or to stay?
yala8's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
atg's review
4.0
Evocative, painful, anti-pastoral. The first time I have read Kavanagh and I don't know why it has taken me all this time. A gifted writer who captures the ambience of the era. The dialogue rings utterly true to life. A masterpiece.
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